The Unquenchable Fire
&
Streams of Living Water

Dedication

To the Lord Who created me and this,
to my Dad, Alfred De Cairos, to my brother Christopher, and to my darling Granny;
to Myrtle and Fred,
for their unconditional love.

Acknowledgments

I thank my husband, Jack, for being the imitator of God that he is. Thank you for your faithfulness and steadfastness, for being my spiritual guide, my covering, my best friend, and my Song of Songs. I am the most blessed of women.

I thank my two sons. They were with me in the lowest and the highest times of my life, and we did not budge an inch in our love for one another. Jason and Devon, you become men of God before my eyes. To Jay & Dev, to Debbie Tammy & Jason, and to all who are yours: Thank you for new memories, and for new love. The Lord is Good.

I thank God for my parents and for my siblings. Mom, Dad, Nancy, Astrid, Ed, Chris, Liz, Debby: you were my gift from God, my place to be strengthened and prepared for this journey of journeys.

To Linda Lafrance: you are my encourager, my sister, my dear and trusted friend, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Blessings and thanks to the saints I met on the way, and to the saints who travel with me still. You know who you are, as we continue to laugh, cry, and grow together on this our journey of faith.

Preface

In 1991, I began to have dreams and visions, and to receive discernment for my life. This is an account of my journey of faith. It is a compilation of some of the events in my life and in the lives of those around me. It is a sign to me that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament is one and the same. It is a sign to me that He continues to work in the lives of the saints today.

This God has taken my weakness and has manifested His Power and Glory. He has brought honor to that which was dishonorable, power to that which was powerless, glory to that which was not glory.

The journey of faith is a wondrous thing to behold. It is a wondrous thing to be touched by. It is a wondrous thing to live.

And as the Lord takes His rightful place on the throne of our hearts there is a struggle as we secede to Him what has been His since the beginning of time, a struggle in which we cry, laugh, and grow with others who are on this road with us.

We are on the journey together, and if we so desire, He enables us through His Holy Spirit to watch, see, and witness, as these changes take place in our own lives and in the lives of those around us.

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” Mark 16:17-18

In the Service of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Penelope Olive

Chapter 1. The First Step

I have so much to do that I can’t get it done until I have prayed two hours daily.
Martin Luther King

Daily Prayer

Daily prayer. I know the struggle. I’ve been there. I’m still there. If we ever say that we have arrived, we have missed the point. 1

God’s Word tells us to pray continually. 2

It’s not a request.

It’s not an option.

It’s a command.

How can we, who are human, search our own hearts? Paul tells us that no man can judge him. Indeed, he cannot even judge himself. Only the Lord can judge his heart. 3 If we cannot do this on our own, and if others cannot do it for us, where can we meet God, that he can search our hearts? For if we ask that He search our hearts 4, we must be where we can hear the answer - where we can respond.

Not in a crowded bus.

Not in a busy day.

Not in a snatched moment of time. 5

Oh. I don’t mean to say that God doesn’t speak to us during the day. He is always there. Always ready. Always directing. He gives us eternity.

We, on the other hand, accord Him the time we accord Him.

‘Come into His presence with singing .’ 6 This is hard sometimes. We have to get to work. We have to get the kids ready for school. We have a lot on our minds. We have to “do” a lot of things. The Lord “did” a lot of things. He had to. His Dad had given him his marching orders. 7 He had to heal the sick. He had to raise the dead. He had to feed the multitudes. He had to suffer. He had to die. He didn’t do any of this without praying. 8

“Yes, but He was God! He could do miracles! That’s what God does!”

Jesus died...God doesn’t do that.

Okay, let’s switch that around. We already do the dying stuff. Human beings die. We don’t like it. Most of us are afraid of it. But that is what we are. That is what we do.

Now, what about the other stuff? The stuff we call “miracles”.

God’s Word tells us, ‘And these signs shall follow them.’ 9 Well now, if Jesus had to get his marching orders from his Father, I would say that not too much has changed. But how can we get our “marching orders” if we don’t visit with the Father? I would feel pretty safe in saying that we probably do get our marching orders anyway, but that they may be a little jumbled up, with our own marching orders, and the marching orders of those around us.

Look around. There are many who become frustrated. Maybe even a little cranky. They are trying to “do” a lot for the Lord.

We see them around us.

We do it ourselves.

We burn out.

In some cases, we leave.

God’s Word tells us ‘confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands’. 10 The Psalmist says everything twice. The wording may be different, but the message is always repeated. God’s Word tells us ‘Test the spirits’. 11 God really wants to get His message across.

When we enter into God’s rest, when we spend time with Him, we rest from our own work. 12

Let me repeat that: we rest from our own work.

Chapter 2. Getting God’s Best

Men whom God has blest with His Spirit are men who craved a deeper fellowship with God and found it through prevailing prayer. There is a waiting before God that sends man back to his task with the hand of God upon him in such a fashion that waters part before him. It is not that God puts a premium on fastings, night-long prayers, tears, and austerities of the flesh - but He does reward a burning desire for His very best.
Vance Havner

The Relationship

I remember when I first began morning devotions. Some days, it was dry. Some days, I had so much stuff to ask the Lord, I never got to praise Him. Some days, I’d fall asleep. But something kept me at it.

Maybe it was what I saw in the faces of those around me.

Maybe it was the sermons I heard.

Maybe it was the perseverance, persistence, and patience that has always seemed to drive me.

Maybe it was the feeling I got six years ago, when, like so many others who leave this part of their lives on a shelf for so long, I stepped through Church doors again. I felt like I had come home, and there was an incredible thirst in me.

Maybe it was the Holy Spirit.

Whatever it was, I kept plugging along. I tried the Day by Day booklets, the Daily Bread booklets, the daily Bible readings. It was like wearing in a new pair of shoes. Now, they are so comfortable they are a part of me. But then, it was everything I could do not to take them off! As I became more comfortable and settled in my morning prayer time, I found that when I skipped a day or two, my day, my whole being, felt “off”. I asked the Lord to help me with the time I needed. He did, because it became a natural part of my morning...like brushing my teeth.

Now I began to wake up with the Lord’s Name on my tongue. Sometimes I could almost feel the Holy Spirit already moving upon me as I woke. I asked God about this and I read:

“The truth of Christianity is not just in my wide awake mind, but deep down in my unconscious mind, also.”

As I came into this relationship with my Heavenly Father, I began to see that I needed to ‘Be still and know that I am Lord.’ 1 I began to spend time listening and waiting for the Lord to speak. As I waited and was ‘still’, I focused on Jesus.

Sometimes I would fall asleep waiting.

Then one day, it happened. He spoke to me. I heard words. And again. And again.

Exciting things began to happen. And every time the Lord works a wonder in me, for me, or around me, I feel like Thomas and He’s saying to me, ‘Look, My child, touch, see. I am real and right here beside you.’ 2

I think sometimes about Mary, the mother of God, and how indescribable it must have been, to have the Holy Spirit move over her with such power from on high, to conceive in her womb the Son of God. 3 O yes, Jesus was born without sin!

Unlike Mary, I only hear words, and yet, I cannot describe how wondrous it is to have the Holy Spirit move over me in such a way.

God sustains me through the night, and brings me into the day with Him, and my morning prayer time with Him is now to me more sweet and more precious than anything I have ever known.

And what does God get out of this?

The following is an excerpt from my Spiritual Journal, dated Saturday January 15, 1994: “As I woke, these words came to me: ‘listening prayer’. My answer, “Yes, Lord, I’ll go”. I did my morning devotion and asked my husband to drive me to the Church.

It was a cold winter day, -50oF, but I felt so warm.

It was my first time (going to the Church for listening prayer), and I expected a group of us to be in a circle listening and praying together. It was not like that at all. I went into the Church. It was empty except for a woman I knew praying quietly in a pew, and the quiet hum of the vacuum cleaner as someone performed one of the many tasks of an Altar Guild member, cleaning the carpet around the altar. I walked towards the back and slipped into a pew. I took out my Bible and got settled.

I remember wondering why I was there, and that I had already spent time in prayer that morning, and what difference would it make being in the Church. On my knees I felt at peace and acknowledged that my prayer time had prepared me for this time and that the Holy Spirit was still upon me. I consciously put my will aside and asked the Lord for direction. I sat in the pew and read ‘That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.’ 4

I puzzled over this and thought, “Well, yes, I already know this, Lord”. I then gave these words to the Lord and again put my will aside to His.

Then, overwhelmed, I was brought to my knees in love and adoration, seeing anew the scope of His Kingdom, and that now, in Jesus, I was also in it. The words from Galations came to mind, ‘I no longer live but Christ lives in me.’ 5 I gave thanks to Jesus that cloaked in Him, I can approach the Father.

I felt myself drawing the cloak of Christ around me, and then I heard these words that brought with them a myriad of teaching and wisdom:

‘My child, I love you as Myself.’

The Father showed me that when I come to Him clothed in Jesus, He looks at me and He loves me - because when He looks at me, He sees Jesus, Whom He loves, and Who is of Himself.

‘Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew.’ 6

He is waiting for you. Come into that time with Him

Chapter 3. The Gift

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.
Max Lucado

Himself

Whenever there is a special occasion in our family, I bake this cake. In my Betty Crocker Cook Book it’s simply called “Chocolate Chip Cake”. My younger son Devon, however, calls it, “Chocolate Chip Cake with Butterscotch Filling and Chocolate Glaze on top”. And that pretty well says it all for him.

I make that cake with my own hands (it’s actually quite easy) and I get all kinds of praise for it. On the basis of that one cake, I’ve been told I should start my own Bakery. I was tempted at one time, but then I realized that the reason I’m getting the praise and the glory is because Betty Crocker wrote the book. She baked the cake first.

I’m always told that my cakes are so moist. Well, here’s the secret. After baking, turn the cakes out onto a plate, cover with a clean dish towel, and then saran wrap to cool. Boy have I received praise and glory for that! But I’ve a confession: my mom showed me how to do it. It was hers first. She gave it to me.

So it is with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. With one difference: The gift is not there if He is not.

When we receive a gift from someone, they give it to us. And then they leave, and we still have the gift in our hands. People admire it, and we say, “Yes, it’s a gift from my husband”. Or, we just say “Thank You”. The gift is ours whether the giver is there or not.

Not so with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are gifts of God’s Presence, not gifts from His Presence. He doesn’t leave in the giving, and when He’s not giving, we don’t get.

In my experience, it has always been this way: When the work that God is doing is being done - whether a miracle, a healing, a prophetic word - I feel very human, devoid of pride, simple, like a child. And after the work is done, I feel the same, very human, devoid of pride, simple, like a child. And those who look at the work, the healing, the miracle, the Word, do not see me. They only see God. And this is the way it should be.

The Gift is Himself.

‘While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.’ 1

The Gift is Himself.

‘Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.’ 2

If God, alive in the flesh in Christ Jesus, Could put aside His Divinity, To live and experience the things of humankind; Surely man, alive now in Jesus Christ, Can put aside his human understanding To live and experience the things of God.

Chapter 4. Finger in the Dust

The Holy Ghost leads men into a glorious inner-chamber relationship and communication with the eternal God; to talk to Him, learn of Him, and to be inspired and renewed by Him. Then endued, anointed, and inspired, he goes forth to reveal, talk of, and share with the godless masses.
Glenn D. Miller

The Template

Once when we were talking, a dear friend and teacher told me, that as each situation or problem presented itself, we were supposed to bring it to God in prayer. 1 The gist of the conversation was something like this:

“That sounds hard.”, I said.

“It is.”, he said.

I asked him, “Do a lot of people really do that?”, and he said, “Probably not.”

“Do you?”, I asked.

“I try.”, he told me.

I am a student of the old school. I loved school. Still do. Everything about it. When the teacher asked a question, my hand shot up. Still does. I listened. I paid attention. I drank it in. And so began another part of my journey with the Lord.

A first it was only the big stuff: my back injury, our children. And my friend was right. It was very hard. But the part that was hard was not the giving it to God. That was easy. Hey, who doesn’t want to give their problems to someone who’s ready to take care of them?

The hard part was keeping my hands off.

I remember when I was a child and I would bring things to my parents or my granny to fix for me. Watching from where I was sitting or standing, I would sometimes get a glimmer of what had to be done.

Remember that glimmer feeling?

If I took the thing back and tried to fix it myself, well, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. But if I left it with them, more often than not, it got fixed. My taking it back and trying my own thing only slowed down the process, because I was only able to see from a certain angle, but they were able to turn the thing around in their hands and look at it from all angles. This is what God does.

And so, as I kept doing this, giving it all to Him, and leaving it there, things began to happen. The big stuff got better and different and easier. All I had to do was sit tight, rest in the Lord, and He did the work.

This is not to say it was smooth sailing. It was a terrible battle sometimes, and I can remember hours and hours into the night, of anguish and pain in my heart. I remember one time that I had battled almost all night, telling the Lord that I only wanted to do His Will, and that my feelings and emotions were getting in the way, and begging Him to bring them in line with His. It became unbearable at one point, and I begged Him to remove the problem from me. HE DID.

It is a spiritual battle. And so I continued to give Him each difficulty, continued in my battle to leave things in His hands, and the answers and solutions and changes continued to follow. And I thanked Him and gave Him the Glory.

Giving Him all these things got to be a habit. I soon began to do it with everything, big and small. I cannot tell you all the details, it would take days, because it was constant, from waking to sleeping. A harsh word, new shoes needed, a job that needed an extra hand, a misunderstanding, a parking place, a missed bus, a decision.

He always responded! Someone would call, or come, or respond. Insight would come. Something would change, or happen, or not happen.

“The truth of Christianity is not just in my wide awake mind, but deep down in my unconscious mind, also.”

God works in us as we sleep, as we wake, and throughout the day. 2 Right beside us. He is more real that you or I. We are limited in our earthly bodies and minds. And He avails Himself to us at all times. What Love!

I have always looked at what Jesus said. You know, the red letter stuff. Now, I have also learned to look at what Jesus does. I read 3 John chapter 8, verses 1 to 11. I looked at Jesus. I looked again and again. Two verses would not leave me. The first one was:

‘BUT JESUS BENT DOWN AND STARTED TO WRITE ON THE GROUND WITH HIS FINGER.’ 4

I always thought it was a strange thing for Jesus to do. Here were these people, rock-throwing on their minds, barraging him with questions, and what does he do?

HE BENDS DOWN AND STARTS WRITING ON THE GROUND WITH HIS FINGER.

Strange...was he - our King, our Savior, our Prince of Peace - practicing writing his name?

...hoping they would leave?

...killing time?

...graffiti?

...pop-art, perhaps?

...just plain burying His head in the sand?

Then it became clear to me.

HE WAS GIVING THE SITUATION TO HIS FATHER IN PRAYER.

And then he spoke what the Father had given him to say.

‘Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.’5

It was a statement of wisdom and conviction:

‘If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ 6

So now, empowered, I mean he had the answer, why didn’t he stare them down?

Why didn’t he do the ‘brood of vipers’, 7

‘wicked generation’,

or long exhortation thing?

Why did he do this again?:

‘AGAIN HE STOOPED DOWN AND WROTE ON THE GROUND.’ 8

I mean, it was a done deal, right? He just made this incredible statement, so why this writing in the dirt again.

Was he resting on his laurels? (that was a wise statement),

enjoying the attention?,

ignoring them head in sand and hoping they would go away?

And then I looked at those words again.

Jesus had not “left the building”. Neither would he do anything casually, without real purpose. So what was he doing this again for? The first time he did this, the Father gave him words of wisdom.

And then, I saw what was happening. One by one, they left, dropped their rocks, and left. And what was he doing, really? I mean, really doing???

HE WAS LEAVING THE SITUATION IN HIS FATHER’S HANDS, PRAYING, AND ALLOWING THE HOLY SPIRIT TO WORK.

And when he stood again, he was empowered once more by the Father to instruct and release. 9

We are always asking how to put Bible teaching within the context of our own lives. Here’s something basic and simple. The proof’s in the pudding! If you don’t do it, you’ll never know! Now, every time a situation presents itself,

I BEND DOWN AND START WRITING ON THE GROUND WITH MY FINGER.

Like I said, the proof’s in the pudding!

The word “miracle” is a word we use to put a name on things that have been fixed inexplicably, things that have been changed inexplicably, things that have happened inexplicably. The world likes to use the word “co-incidence”. Personally, I like “God-incidence”.

Chapter 5. In His Time

‘He reached down from on high and took hold of me, he drew me out of deep waters.’ 1 Psalm 18:16

Faith and Healing

One morning in October of 1992, as I woke and got up out of bed, I felt as if a huge elastic band had snapped inside me. Over the next two days, the pain got incredibly worse. I was referred to a neurosurgeon.

That night, my husband and I prayed together for healing and for clear direction from the Lord.

The surgeon confirmed that I had a slipped disk, that I had lost most of the use of my arm, and that it was getting worse. He said that I needed surgery, and that I could not wait. I needed to decide within two days. He told us clearly the risks involved: 20% chance of anything from a headache to complete paralysis. While he was speaking, I “felt” strong waves of No!’s streaming throughout my body.

On the way home in the car, we were silent. Then Jack said to me, “Well, maybe we’ll just wait it out.”

Later that night, I prayed and prayed that these strong feelings were not from my own fear, but the clear answer we had prayed for...That night, I read Psalm 18 2, ‘He reached down from on high and took hold of me, he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in. me.’

And while I cried, I felt that He was holding me in His arms.

I knew that my healing had begun the night Jack and I prayed together, and I went forward in faith. The pain was quite unbearable at times and I didn’t sleep for 4 months straight. I learned and tried different sleeping position, and became very dependent on a small neck pillow. I lived and traveled everywhere with this pillow.

I woke every morning with pain and it gradually left as the day wore on.

One night in October of 1994, as I was preparing for bed, I kept hearing quite strongly an urging, ‘Get rid of the pillow’. It was a firm, quiet, command, and it wouldn’t stop. “All right”, I said, and put the neck pillow at the foot of the bed.

Well, I just couldn’t get comfortable. I tried my side, then my back, then my other side. I heard then a few times, ‘Stay on your back.’ I did, but it wasn’t very comfortable. I told the Lord, “Okay, and thank you, and please help me through this night.”

I fell asleep and the next morning and each morning since, no pain.

Since that time, although I no longer woke with pain, I did experience pain whenever I lifted something, exerted myself, walked too quickly, turned my head the wrong way, etceteras. Since it seemed to be quite an unpredictable thing as to what would bring on this pain, which could last up to a week, I have been, needless to say, very gentle and careful with myself.

When my grandson was born in July 1996, I wondered sadly how long I would be able to hold him in my arms, and whether I would be able to baby-sit him. I felt that I had been robbed, and really wallowed in self-pity and misery at times. I wondered at where the Lord was leading me, and if I would be able to do any of these things. I doubted the Voice I heard, saying that He would remove this from me, and I walked and feared as if this injury was part of my life now.

On December 20th, 1997, I wrote these words in my journal:

‘That you know My Glory, I shall heal you of this infirmity. That you know My Glory, this shall be gone from you. But know this: it is not so that the hand of God can move, for nothing can stay the hand of God. It is for you, My child, for I love you dearly, and I would have you free of this that has fallen upon you. This is to My Glory, that you know that I love you, and it is simply in this that I heal. My work cannot fall, for it is not you who hold My hand up, but I who hold your hand up.’

I am a lot like Thomas 3, and the Lord in His never-ending patience and love for me, is continually allowing me to hear Him and to feel Him in my life.

I believe that my healing is complete now. I have gone skating with my husband this year, for the first time in 5 years. And I pick Jacob up, a robust and lively 20 pounds of baby boy...and I have no pain...

Even in our moments of doubt and fear, He picks us up, dusts us off, whispers encouragement in our ear, and sends us on.

Chapter 6. A Gift at Easter

But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. 1 John 3:21

The Part and the Whole

On February 27th, my seven month old grandson Jacob was brought to the Montreal Children’s Hospital. He was vomiting and had difficulty breathing. He was put on intravenous and oxygen. With this intervention, and with physiotherapy, he improved slightly.

I prayed for him and so did many others, but he did not seem to be getting better. He was listless, didn’t want to drink his formula, and still needed the oxygen. The doctors did not understand why he wasn’t getting better faster.

On March 4th, each time I prayed for Jacob, I had a strong feeling that God was doing more that we could see with our eyes. The next morning as I prayed for him during my morning devotion, the Lord said to me, ‘You are praying for the part, and I desire the whole’. God impressed upon me that He wanted Jacob to be baptized, and that I would be the one to do this. I gave this into His hands.

All day, there was a feeling of warmth and His words pressing upon my heart.

I went to see the baby at the hospital, but I said nothing. Each time I began to pray for his healing, I would hear the words, ‘You know the way...you know what needs to be done.’ Jacob was listless. They had brought X-rays to show us that the mass that was there at the beginning of his illness was still there.

I said nothing.

When I got home, I spent time in prayer, again praying for healing for Jacob, and the Lord gave me clear direction now. As His Word came to me, I wrote:

‘I alone in My glory can do these things, How can you in your humanness bring this one to Me? Do the things I say. If I say this one is to be baptized, why do you hesitate? This is not a matter of good and evil. This is a matter of life. My life in you, and in all those around you.

The Kingdom of God is not of this world. Those that enter in must be proclaimed. This child of Mine has need of me, and I have need of him.

Come now, let us reason together. If I am in you would you not say that that which is of you is also of Me? I claim not this child of the evil one, for he is of Me. Yet I would have this proclaimed. If the very heavens proclaim My name, why then not the lips of man?

In their midst, you are Me in them, for how can I be near and not touch those near Me? I am the Lord and all consuming am I. Yet this one is to be proclaimed. This is to My glory, and to the salvation of those who are near.

Call on Me while I may be found. I am near yet they know Me not. You then come near that they may know Me, for I am within you and this shall be visited generation upon generation. There is naught to be done. Proclaim this child as Mine own. I shall do the rest.

Your prayer is in My ear and in the ear of many has it been heard. Proclaim this child to Me. This is all I ask. Your prayer has been heard, My child. Now hear My words. Proclaim this child to Me.

That those that are near know the Name of the One who saves.

That those who are near receive a taste of heaven in the midst of turmoil.

That those that are near come to know Me and the blessings I enfold.

That those that are near proclaim this child in My name.

I am the Lord and these are My words to you: Proclaim this child in My name. The hosts in heaven shall proclaim this with you and the Kingdom rejoices that one is proclaimed in My name.’

I read about Private Baptism in our Book of Common Prayer. 2 I gave all this into Jesus’ hands and went to sleep. The next day, the feeling of warmth pressing upon my heart stayed with me all day at work and the direction to go to the hospital was strong. I prayed continually.

I arrived at the Hospital at 5:30 in the evening. Jason and Sarah, Jacob’s parents, were both there. Again, each time I tried to lift Jacob up in prayer, the same thing happened, I received the same words, ‘You know the way, you know what needs to be done. This one is to be baptized’. I said nothing.

I was soon 8:30, and I would have to leave.

I was on the verge of tears as I went to wash something at the sink in the room, so strong was the feeling that I was to do this thing, and I asked the Lord how I could even say this. Jason and Sarah were just beginning to think that God was real and had not yet come to the Lord. He told me that it was His work to move in their hearts, and not mine.

I knew then that if I did not speak, I would be saying not to Him, and this I could not bear.

I asked Jason and Sarah if they remembered that I had told them that I spent time in prayer every morning. They said yes. I asked them if they remembered the things I had shared with them about receiving direction from the Lord for different things and what had happened. They said yes. I told them that each time I prayed for Jacob, that the Lord was putting something on my heart: that He wanted Jacob to be baptized.

My son looked at me and told me that this had been on his mind for 2 days now. 3

I told him that I believed that the Lord had put this on his heart. I told them that the Lord loved them very much and that this baptism was not a matter of good and evil. I told them that the Lord wanted the child to be proclaimed as His. I explained to them about the service in our Book of Common Prayer. They agreed.

I told them that although it looked as if we were the only ones present: Jason, Sarah, Jacob, and myself, that we were not alone. I told them that God had show me that He was there, all the hosts and angels of heaven were there, and that this was for His glory. I used the words in the service for Private Baptism.

It was a peaceful time, and I remember that I felt very human, and that God Himself was doing this.

The next few days, I tried to reach Father Alex, our parish priest. There was a strong feeling that this was the last part of the healing process for Jacob, and for the work that the Lord was doing. I was afraid to tell him because I feared rejection. Yet I knew this was the Lord’s work and not mine. When I finally spoke to him, he was very kind, and my anxiety faded away.

A specialist came to see Jacob, said that the problem had “gone away”, took him off the oxygen, and he is now home. The “Easters” in our lives don’t always fall around the time of our liturgical Easter, but this one is surely one that I will always remember.

I didn’t understand what the Lord had meant by the ‘part’ and the ‘whole’ until much later. God always has a bigger plan.

The following June, Jason and Sarah were married, and Sarah shared with me that when she was going to sleep the night before her Wedding day, these same words kept coming to her.

Sarah and Jessica, her 5 year old daughter and my newly inherited and delightful granddaughter, were baptized the following month. When Jessie, standing on a chair at the Baptismal font, raised her blond head with drops of water falling down on her smiling little face, my heart caught in my throat.

There were many moist eyes at the service.

‘But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.’ 4

Chapter 7. An Arrow Removed

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 1 Peter 5:10

Oneness

There was a woman at my office who always seemed to be in so much pain. Her body always seemed so rigid. She seemed to have a difficult time communicating and relating with people. She struggled with the very notions that leaders and members of denominations all over the world struggle with, notions of doctrine and tradition that have kept God’s people divided for centuries.

What was God’s Truth in all of this?, she wondered.

She was also going through a difficult time in her personal life, and so I thought it was for this reason that she seemed so unhappy.

One day, she came to mind for no apparent reason. I saw an arrow in the lower left side of her back, and hands there, trying to remove it. 2 I didn’t try to understand, I gave it to the Lord.

The image would come back to me again and again.

I worked for a Christian organization during this time and we met in small prayer groups every morning. One morning, this lady showed me a book that she was very excited about. The title was “Mon Identité en Christ”. I looked through it, and it looked very familiar. I realized later that it was the French translation of “Victory Over the Darkness” by Neil Anderson . She said that she wanted to do a Bible Study, using the verses that were used in the book.

I wanted to be part of the study group, not for the book, because I had already read it; I just wanted to be there - there was something about the way she became excited when she talked about the book.

Each time we would meet in our bible study group, I would watch her face. She would talk about what she had learned about who she was in Christ, and she would get so excited. I saw the others watching her, and they too, noticed the light in her eyes, and the animated way she talked, and the smile on her face. And they would smile. It was amazing.

One day, it was just the two of us for prayer. As we shared together, she told me what had happened to her.

Two years earlier, she had fallen on the ice outside the office, and had hurt her back. She had been incontinent for two years now.

Again the image of the arrow came to me, but this time, with it came the urge to lay hands on her. I told her that I would like to pray for her, and she told me that many people had already prayed for her, but that if I wanted to, I could.

She didn’t sound very hopeful.

As I prayed, I felt that the Lord wanted me to put my hands on her. But when I opened my eyes, she looked so rigid, I wasn’t sure. Although we were all Christians in our office, the laying on of hands was not something I had ever experienced there, and I wasn’t sure how it would be received.

To be honest, I was afraid, and so I didn’t obey.

While I prayed, I saw the same image of her with an arrow in her lower back, and hands there, as if trying to remove it. Then I saw a wet cloth, and then hands wringing it out. Liquid came out from the cloth as it was squeezed. Then the hands put the cloth to the left side, and I heard the words, ‘This is gone from you’. 3 I said nothing, and we closed our time of prayer.

Thoughts of her constantly came to me now, regardless of where I was. I kept giving all these things to the Lord.

One morning, I was speaking with a girl I traveled to work with, and in the middle of our conversation, thoughts of this woman came to me, with strong feelings to put hands on her, and the image of the arrow again. I told my friend I had to get to work, and left.

There were four of us present on this morning for prayer. One of them was not an employee, but a volunteer. I knew her to be a Christian, because we had prayed together. My colleague read the scripture for the morning. It was 1 Peter 5:6-11:

‘Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To Him be the power forever and ever. Amen.’ 4

As I heard these words, my heart began to pound strongly throughout my whole body, and I became very warm. The image of the arrow was strong, and I again felt the direction to lay hands on her. Hearing the words, I felt that the Lord was going to heal her.

I waited. 5

My other co-worker then spoke about how during the last couple of years, she had come to understand that it was a spiritual battle we were in, and that it was very real. I felt now that I could speak.

I did not mention her illness, because I knew that the volunteer would not know, and I wasn’t sure if my other co-worker knew either. I simply told them what I had seen, and how I was feeling, and what I felt the Lord wanted us to do.

Then, it was as if the Lord arranged it Himself. We quietly went to her, put our hands on her, and prayed, simply thanking God for being with us, bringing her before Him, and thanking Him for the work He was doing in her, and that we could be there with Him in this.

As the others prayed, I saw the arrow removed. The hands broke it in two and put it to the left side as before, and the words came, ‘It is done’. Then I saw a smooth and shiny skin-colored bandage about 3 inches high by 7 inches long in the place where the arrow had been, and hands smoothing it in place. I told the others what I saw. I remember feeling very human. 6

She gave herself again to the Lord, and we closed in prayer. We went to our work and did not speak again about this.

The next morning, during my own prayer time, among other things, I wrote: I guess I’m hoping the incontinence will go, but I need to remember that this is God’s work and ‘It is done’. The Lord gave me these words:

‘My child. This one that is healed is one who shall come forth. Do you think My Word is of no value? The images you see are for her who was in pain. Now the pain is gone and she comes forth to claim her rightful inheritance. That she know it is I, she shall be healed of all her infirmity.’ I gave all these things into the Lord’s hands.

One month later, during our prayer time, she said that she had something to share. She said that she believed that she no longer had the problem of incontinence, and that she had been healed. But what amazed me was what she said after that.

She told us that she was very happy that she was healed, but that there was something more important that the Lord had done in her. She said that she had always had a problem accepting the differences in other churches, but that the Lord had shown her in this time that we are all one in Jesus Christ. 7

Following are the words of a song that I had learned at my church, and during that time, I wanted to shout to the rooftops:
“God is a good God! Yes He is!
God is a good God! Yes He is!

He lifts me up! He turns me around!
He sets my feet, on higher ground!

God is a good God! Yes He is!
God is a good God! Yes He is!”

We spoke again about this several months later.

In wisdom, she had not bolted outright to announce to family and friends, as I was want to do, that she had been healed. Her concern had been for her young teenage daughter and the impact that this could have on her faith.

She wisely consulted her family doctor, and, under medical supervision, she underwent several tests and examinations, and was taken off medication. During that time, she was also led to go to her own church for prayer.

She told me that her healing was now complete.

I would now venture to say that the shiny, skin colored bandage that I saw being put in place so lovingly on that day so many months earlier, has now been removed by that same Divine Hand.

Praise be to God!

Chapter 8. The Road to Emmaus

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. 1 Luke 24:31

The Road to Jerusalem

In 1990, I was working as manager of administration in a bank branch, and although I had given my life to the Lord, I was still pretty well going my own way and doing my own thing, asking the Lord to be with me and to bless me in all my work.

And He did bless me. He did come along with me. I was earning a good salary, and things were going very well for me, both in my professional life and in my personal life as well.

I had just recently been assigned to this branch, and I was in the process of putting in place procedures that prior to this had not been adhered to. It was the responsibility of each Teller to ensure that their cash drawers were kept under the allowable limit. Keeping cash drawer holdings below the specified limits was one of my mandates for the Teller area, as this had been one of their weaknesses.

“But we never get robbed!”, the Tellers would lament to me, when I would come by for one of my unannounced “spot checks”. On their behalf, I must say that they were trying their best to follow the guidelines laid down for them in their Teller Manuals.

One day, I had just finished performing one of my Teller “spot checks”, and had returned to my desk. It was quite busy that day and the branch was full of customers. One of my Customer Services Officers was with me at the time. We were in the middle of discussing a customer-related issue, when a strong and urgent feeling came upon me, with the words: ‘Quick! Check the Tellers!’

I “heard” those words several times as I got up quickly and headed for the Tellers’ cage. I remember the woman’s look of surprise as I left her behind, saying that I had to check the cashes again. I entered the cage and checked each girl’s cash quickly, and I remember how they all protested that I had just verified their cash drawers.

When I think of it now, it is very strange: all of them had excess cash in their drawers which they had not had time to “drop” into their concealed time-locked vaults.

At my urging, each Teller did this immediately. All the while, the words kept coming to me, and the urgency to do it quickly was strong. I left the cage quickly and went to the girl that I had been speaking with at my desk. She was responsible for a mobile cash, and I told her I wanted to check it right away.

As we were approaching her cash station, she pleaded, in a friendly way, that I shouldn’t check now, and that I should give her time to “fix” her cash. I told her it had to be now and we quickly removed the excess cash. She also had been over the limit.

All this checking was done quickly, taking not more than a few minutes. As the last bundle of excess cash was “dropped”, I heard a man shouting. We were being robbed! I remember thinking that he must have been approaching the branch while I was checking the Tellers.

After the robbery, there was a lot to be done. The branch had to be closed, the Tellers and staff needed emotional support, the remaining customers served, the Tellers balanced, the police and detectives’ questions answered, our Head Office advised, the reporting begun, etc., etc., etc.

And in all the melee of the aftermath of this, I remember vividly two things.

The first was this girl Elena, whom I had left behind earlier, in the dust so-to-speak, as I dashed to check the Tellers, and then to whom I returned when I had finished. Elena, in the midst of all of this activity, who now constantly put herself in my path, as I dashed here and there to make sure everything was being done, her face always close to mine. She kept asking me, in French,

“Penny, how did your know?!?”,
“Penny, who told you??!”,
“Penny, you knew before it happened...how did you know?!?”,
“Penny, how did you know we were going to be robbed?!??”,
“How did you know??!”

Finally, I answered her quietly, “C’était le Seigneur.” (It was the Lord.)

Quietly, because I was just acknowledging this myself.

Quietly, because I had been, since the initial urging, in a state of calm and peace.

Quietly, because I, in the flurry of activity between Elena’s questioning gazes, had been patting myself on the back: for my calm presence of mind, my effective organizational skills, a job well-done.

And there was Jesus asking me,

‘Penny, how did your know?!?’,
‘Penny, who told you??!’,
‘Penny, you knew before it happened...how did you know?!?’,
‘Penny, how did you know we were going to be robbed?!??’,
‘How did you know??!’

...until finally, I answered, “C’était le Seigneur”...it was You, Lord. 2

The second was a decision that I made that day.

I realized that Jesus had saved me, and had given me back my life. My life was my own now, and, even though I was daily asking His direction, I was lord of my life.

I decided now to give my life to Him in total: I no longer wanted to do my will, but His. I no longer wanted Him to come along with me. I wanted to follow Him, to go where He led.

It wasn’t an overnight process.

I had been operating in my own strength for years. But all the Lord wants from me is a willing spirit. He does the rest. 3

Once in a while, I get side-tracked, and there He is, with me on the road to Emmaus, and then He touches me, He breaks bread with me, and I see Him, 4 and I resolutely again, turn my face towards Jerusalem.

So here I am: He has set my feet in a new place 5 ...and as Jesus did when He set His face resolutely towards Jerusalem...knowing full well the ordeal and the glory before Him 6 ...I can only follow Him....for these places are my Jerusalem.

Chapter 9. The Mind of God

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 1 Hebrews 4:13

A Clear Answer

One day, I was visiting with a friend of mine who is a Jehovah Witness. Visiting with her is always a bit exhausting because what should be a wonderful sharing of our friendship tends to be more of a persistent and challenging effort of convincing (on her part), and a careful and prayerful awareness (on my part) .

She is always literally armed with several versions of the Bible, including her own. 2

As a norm, although I am carefully and prayerfully aware and listening at all times for subtleties (from guess who, not my friend, but from our common enemy, the father of lies) 3 , I am very confident and comfortable and safe in my belief and faith in the Lord.

After all, I’ve met Him!

I know Him!

We have a relationship!

During this particular evening, she was want to concentrate on the fact that God has a name, Jehovah, and that we are wrong in not calling Him by His name. After she had pointed out, and read NUMEROUS verses to back up this theory, I had a thought that perhaps I should tell her that this might be so, but that there were so many things that the Bible had to teach us, wasn’t she concentrating a little too much on this one thing?

Well. She looked at me and said, “Penny. Do you like it when people call you by your name? Don’t you think God would like us to call Him by His name?”

We said our good-byes amicably and I went home.

I thought of how I felt when people called me by my name.

“Hi, Penny”...warm, fuzzy feeling...

“Penny”...mmm, someone’s calling me...

“Penny, Penny Olive”...that’s Jack Olive’s wife...ooohh...linking me to my darling and loving husband.

Oh, yes, I liked it when people said my name!

Oh, I was crushed. Did God, my God, my Lord, want to be called by this name? Was I hurting Him by not doing so?

And I prayed: “Father, I come before you in the name of Jesus. I neither accept nor believe any of the teachings of the Jehovah Witnesses. They are false and deceptive. But, Father, I want to do Your will in all things. If it is Your will that I call you by this name, please tell me. I want to do Your will in all things, and I ask you to direct me, in the Name of Jesus, Amen”. 4

And I left it with the Lord.

A few days later I was in prayer and I read in my Bible:
‘The Lord is my name. I am not like you.
I do not have a name that limits Me, and describes Me, and labels Me, like you do.
I am not like you. I am the Lord.’

I had a vague impression of a closed box...

While I read, it was like “seeing” with my eyes, my mind, and my heart, at the same time...and I felt as if a long time had passed...that time had been suspended...yet it was just a few moments. I closed my Bible, thanked the Lord for this very clear answer, and asked if this was something I should share with my friend.

This time, without waiting for the answer, I opened my Bible to find the verse again...I couldn’t find it. I searched for several weeks. I enlisted the aid of two Christian friends who know the Bible frontwards, backwards, and in two languages, and they couldn’t find this verse for me.

It finally dawned on me that perhaps this answer was for me alone, and not to share with my friend at this time. I found the verse:

‘I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to another
or my praise to idols.’ 5

I burst into tears of amazement and thanksgiving. His ways are truly not our ways.....and the feeling when His Hand is upon us, is truly mighty. 6

‘For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 7

Chapter 10. Divine Administrator

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. 1 Isaiah 40:8

A Prophetic Word

The following is an excerpt from my spiritual journal dated October 25, 1997. I was working for a Christian organization at this time.

‘Write these words, My child.

The Lord is faithful. His Word stands forever. The Lord has put His word in my mouth and has said to me. ‘I will not let your words fall to the ground’.

If the Lord has put His Word in my mouth and this is His Word which He has put in my mouth, then my word shall not fall to the ground. The Word of the Lord stands forever. Isaiah 40:8

In 1993, the Lord brought this Word to me from Jeremiah 10:21:
‘The shepherds are senseless
and do not inquire of the Lord;
so they do not prosper
and all their flock is scattered.’ 2

We were five Christians working together in one office at that time. With these words, the Lord showed me that if we did not pray as a group we would scatter 2. It was not a threat. It came as a truth. We were not praying together in the mornings, nor were we meeting together on Wednesday mornings as was the rule for the whole organization.

After a struggle in prayer, for these words continually pressed upon me, I spoke to my boss. He agreed and we began morning prayer. The others did not come. I was led to speak, first to one then to another, but they still did not join us. Our time of prayer faltered, and then stopped.

My colleagues’ positions were cut: two in November 1994; one in May 1996; the last, one year later in May 1997.

I remember thinking at that time that the Lord’s Word from Jeremiah was complete. But two weeks ago I dreamed that my position had been cut. I was cleaning out my files, and I was very happy.

Then it came to me that I would be leaving my place of work for a while. Then, I understood. For the Word of the Lord to be complete in this, I too must leave. 3

Do not grieve for me but be glad. For the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. I rejoice in this time for it is His assurance that He directs my life.

How much can we trust a man who sways in his thinking? But our God is faithful and His Word does not fall.

I love you all dearly and I pray that the words of our faithful president ring in your ears as they do in mine: “Prayer is not an option, folks!”

Thank you for being with me on this journey and I look forward to another time with you.

In the service of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Penny Olive’

I believed that the Lord was preparing me for what was to come, and in faith, I quietly began to clean out my files, and to bring home my personal effects. A few weeks later my work area was ready, and the farewell message that had been dictated to me by my Divine Administrator was ready to be sent.

My position was eliminated January 2nd, 1998.

In all of this, I learned two things:

The first is that as a body of believers, God calls us to come together for prayer and worship.

When we came together for prayer on Wednesday mornings as an organization, sometimes it was boring and it seemed to some to interfere with our work life and with our daily routine. The same for our morning prayer times in small groups.

But God does not call us to come together for our fun and entertainment. He calls us together because He knows how much we need it.

‘And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’ 4

The second thing I learned was that God’s Word does not fall. It doesn’t matter if He said it 2,000 years ago, or two minutes ago.

I am excited as I look forward to where the Lord will lead me next. He has said to me that He will show me the way, that it will be clear, and that it will be a time of peace and harmony. 5

* - And they say a Christian’s life is boring!!!

Chapter 11. The Girl with the Dark Hair

If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 1 1 Peter 4:14

Entertaining a Stranger

Sitting in my classroom at Concordia University, I was very aware of the girl who was seated behind me. She asked me quietly what class this was. I answered her and proceeded to point out in my French Grammar text the section that the professor was discussing.

She told me quietly that it was okay, that she was not actually taking the class, but that she was just sitting in on the session. I remember thinking that this was odd. It was the third course session.

I was very aware of her presence behind me, a presence of stillness and quietness, which remained with me throughout the remainder of class time.

At the end of the session, I hurriedly got my things together, packing my notes and books, and putting on my coat and gloves. I had another course after this, not at Concordia, but at another College, and it was always a bit of a rush for me. I usually met with two of my classmates before the course. We would have a quick bite to eat and then go to class.

The girl that was behind me got up with me and she began to question me as to where I was going. She walked along with me, and I remember wondering why this young girl would take the time to talk to me so earnestly. I was old enough to be her mother and there were many students around us that were more her own age.

I got a good look at her now. She had very dark hair and light colored skin. Her hair was short and placed in a very simple style. She looked to be in her early twenties. She was dressed very simply, in fact I don’t remember her even having a coat on, or books in her hands, and here I was juggling all kinds of stuff, my purse, my knapsack, and wearing a warm coat.

We were walking together slowly, as she continued to talk with me, I all the while wondering that this young girl would continue to converse with me, and wondering why. She left me for a moment, and I speeded up to get to the escalators. I was on the seventh floor and needed to work my way down to the main floor. Suddenly, there she was again, running to catch up with me at the top of the escalator.

What happened after that is very odd. It seemed as if I was moving in slow motion. All the other students seemed to be racing past us. I had the feeling that I was being held back from rushing, and I felt very calm, quiet, and peaceful. All the while this young woman stayed beside me, and we went down the seven escalator stairs together.

I don’t remember moving from one level to the next. I only remember thinking how wonderful and relaxed I felt, all the while wondering about the people who were rushing past us as we went down.

When we finally arrived at the main floor, she stayed with me for a few moments, continuing to engage me in conversation. I don’t remember all the things she asked me about. I just remember that she was asking me where I was going after this. Then she left me.

I headed out the doors of the University and towards the Metro station. I had to take the subway two stops over to get to my destination. I still had this feeling of calmness and quietness and that something was holding me back from rushing. I remember thinking that I could never work again downtown because I was too relaxed. People continued to rush past me.

At the Metro station now, I paid my fare and descended to the underground level. As I walked along the platform, I noticed a vacant seat. A thought came to me that I shouldn’t sit there, but I dismissed the thought as soon as it came. 2

There was a woman sitting next to the vacant seat. She had her back to me because she was sitting sideways on the seat. Her hair was so long, it touched the seat she was sitting on, and then it was folded up and tied at the nape of her neck. It would have touched the floor had it been loose. In the seconds that followed, I remember having one thought: I wondered how long my hair would grow if I stopped cutting it.

The woman got up. As she was getting up, she faced me. I saw a large pair of open scissors on the seat that she had been sitting on, and thought for a moment that I should tell her about them. She picked them up, looked at me and said, “Don’t look at me. I’m not in a good mood. I’ll hurt you.”

I must have closed my eyes with the shock at what she said, because when I looked in the next moment, she was no longer there. I looked down at one end of the subway platform and then down at the other end. She was nowhere to be seen. It was as if she just disappeared from sight!

I heard the train coming, and then it came to me that if I had rushed as I usually do to get here, this person might have harmed me. I didn’t want to be fearful, and so I said a quick prayer: “Lord, I don’t understand what just happened or why, I just leave it with you. If there is something I need to understand in this, I know You’ll make it clear to me. I don’t want to be fearful about this, or to dwell on it, and so I give it into Your hands. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.” 3

All thoughts of the incident went out of my head, and I went to meet my friends for supper. We had supper, and went to class. The session was a good one, and after class, we headed for home. We chatted in the car (we usually car-pooled to go home), and just as we were arriving at my front door, the memory of what had happened came back to me.

I was amazed! I had completely forgotten the whole incident.

At home now, even though it was late, I decided to take the time to pray before I went to sleep. Again, I gave the events of the evening into the Lord’s hands, asking Him what this meant and why this had happened, and the Lord said to me, ‘This is a sign to you that My Spirit is upon you’. 4

I believe that this young dark-haired woman, in whose presence I felt such peace and calm, had slowed me down and had, in most probability, saved me from certain harm, and perhaps even death.

I believe that the Lord sent an angel to me that night. 5

I saw neither woman again.

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 6

Chapter 12. Alabaster Jars

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. 1 Matthew 26:6-7

The Miracle of the Bikes

On August the 3rd, 1994, the Lord led me to send the following E-Mail to my colleagues across Canada.

‘To: All Staff
From: Penny Olive
Date: August 3, 1994

Several weeks ago, the Lord placed something upon my heart, and so I mentally dashed out in several directions on my own to do His will. Finding no clear answer on my own, I gave it to Him and a week ago, he let me know that this was not something I was to do on my own, and that I was to reach out to you.

I did nothing. 3 days ago He literally dictated a letter to me in the still of the night. I did nothing.

My husband can testify to the fact that, not only do I sleep anywhere, anytime, anyhow, for what ever number of minutes I choose, but I can also fall asleep at the drop of a hat. And so last night as sleep evaded me and I uncharacteristically tossed and turned, I began to praise the Lord and give thanks for my sleeplessness.

I rose from my bed to share the following with you.

I am blessed to work with Beverly. She has been working as secretary here for over 5 years now. Bev is a blond, blue-eyed, vivacious, good-natured, generous, and loving person. There is always a bubbling joy in her, a fruit of the spirit, always there, just under the surface, and as the Lord works through her, it bubbles over and spills onto the person He is blessing.

To Jerry, her husband, she is Proverbs’ wife of noble character. 2

For myself, I am blessed to have met Bev in that place in Christ as sisters, where we shall be for eternity. She is my “Timothy”, who takes a genuine interest in my welfare, and looks out for the interest of Jesus Christ, and not for her own. 3 I praise and thank the Lord daily for her presence in my life.

Bev and Jerry have two sons, Jordan age 6, and Timothy, age 9, who are a joy to be with. Already at their young, tender ages, both of these boys have a fierce love for the Lord, and a desire to know and to do His Will.

‘Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.’ 4

Jerry and Bev are presently teaching the children about tithing. 5

About a month ago, Jordan, Bev’s young son, was riding his bike on their residential street when a speeding car forced him to leap from his bike to safety. The woman ran over the bike with her car and did not stop. The children told Bev they did not recognize the car nor the driver.

Jordan was shaken up, but miraculously unhurt. His bike, however, was a write-off. Now, neither child has a bike that is usable. This was lifted up in prayer and left in the Lord’s hands. 6

Bev and Jerry work hard to ensure that their two sons are always with either their father or their mother or with both parents. This has meant juggling work schedules, and great financial sacrifice. Today, I prayerfully bring before you this request. The Lord has impressed upon me the amount of $300.00 for two new bikes, which will be a first for both boys. $30.00 of this is to be tithed by the boys.

I now leave this work in the Lord’s hands...He shall do the rest...please join me in lifting this work to the Lord in praise and thanksgiving that He has impressed this upon my heart and that He has enabled me to obey.

We are God’s workmanship, opening with Him, an alabaster jar of expensive perfume such as was poured out on our Lord, 7 to witness the words of Malachi to two young ambassadors in chains for the Lord. 8 ‘See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” 9

Your sister in Christ, Penny Olive’

The response amazes me to this day. God’s timing is perfect, and He works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose. 10

Two of the ladies who responded were retiring the same day they received this message. One man received a pay back on a loan of $100.00, forgotten and long overdue. The person insisted on giving him an extra $50.00. The same day this message was received, the check was in the mail. I shared with a friend of mine who was just beginning to walk with the Lord, and she immediately wanted to participate. One wondrous woman sent $100.00 with her love, saying that she was happy to do her part in blessing this family with the Lord, and that she was the most blessed person on this earth.

Obedience throws open the floodgates of heaven.

In faith, Bev and Jerry bought the boys their bikes...teaching them about tithing, answered prayer, and obedience.

Within 7 days, we received $300.00 in blessings.

‘As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.’ 11

Chapter 13. A Time for Everything

Church members in too many cases are like deep sea divers, encased in the suits designed for many fathoms deep, marching bravely out to pull out plugs in bath tubs.

Mr. Jones, Meet The Master
Edited by Catherine Marshall

The Seasons of our Lives

‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.’ 1 Ecclesiastes 3:1

Some of us are ready, perched on the edge of some work, eagerly awaiting the sign we need to delve into the project at hand.

Some of us are in the midst of a flurry of activity, sometimes tired, sometimes full of energy.

For some, it is a time of preparation for works yet to come.

And for some of us, it is a time of rest, a time of reflection, a time of restoration.

Just as God has blessed the earth with the seasons of the year in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, so too has he blessed us with seasons in our own lives.

The preparation, the anticipation, the work, and the restoration: In these seasons that mold each task in our lives, arise the difficulties that spring from our own human nature.

Is there stress and anxiety in our time of preparation?

Is there impatience in our anticipation?

Is there fatigue in our time of work?

Is there complacency in our times of rest and restoration?

Let us encourage and spur each other on. 2 For the One who is Wisdom will help us in our weaknesses. God has given us the wisdom of His Word: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

Let our anticipation be filled with joy and hope. For in Christ, we are now continually perched on the edge of something new.

Freedom of Choice

I love the Lord, and I always want to obey Him. But I go through such a struggle to obey Him. Sometimes it is so hard, I agonize for days and weeks at a time. It is as if I know I’m going to obey, but getting there is so painful at times. It is just no fun at all. 3

My parents did a good job raising me and I love them dearly. But parenting to them was serious business, and so I had a very strict upbringing. As well, I was brought up in the Catholic school system with nuns, and, although I loved going to school, life was pretty strict there too.

And so I learned from a very young age that persons in authority were to be obeyed.

One day, my dear friend Linda came to see me. She said that the story of Mary and Martha 4 was constantly coming to her and she wasn’t sure why. We read the scripture together and prayed about it. The word “chosen” seemed to stand out for me, and so I said to her, “I think it’s all about choice.” That same day, we chose to go together to a weekend conference that my Church was hosting. It was called HEALING THE WHOLE PERSON and was led by the team of the Isaiah 40 Foundation.

It was now the last day of the conference and we had just finished the celebration of the Eucharist. Anyone who wanted to go up for prayer was invited to do so. It was early and I remember thinking, “Well, isn’t that nice? If my friend wants to go for more prayer, she has time.”

Then, my own words came back to me, ‘It’s all about choice.’ I felt a strong urge to go for prayer, and the words continued to come to me, ‘It’s all about choice.’ The need to go for prayer was so urgent that I practically climbed over my friend in the pew, and I am ashamed to say this, over another woman in our pew as well, who was still on her knees in prayer!

When I arrived at the prayer station and was facing the prayer team , I could only blurt out, “I don’t know why I’m here. I just know I need to pray, and I think it’s about choice.” They simply smiled and we got down to the business of praying.

As they were praying, I heard the Lord say to me, ‘I have chosen you. Now, I am giving you the choice.’ In that moment, the Lord showed me that when there is a work to be done, He looks around and then He chooses someone to do this work with Him. And just as He Himself takes the time to choose us, so too, He then now gives us the choice.

I realized that I had been obeying the Lord because I looked at Him as an authority figure, and because I had learned from childhood that authority led to obedience. I was obeying Him because I had learned that I had to! And He was now telling me that I don’t have to and that He is giving me the choice.

I was overwhelmed. How could I have done this to Him, Who is my life and my all! How could I have hurt Him in this way? That He would accept so patiently that I obeyed Him out of my attitude to authority and not out of my love for Him, moved me to tears. I prayed with my prayer partners then, asking the Lord to forgive me.

Now, when the Lord puts something in front of me, I think it will feel less like a burden and more like a privilege. What a patient and gentle God we have!

The Struggle Within

The following is an excerpt from my spiritual journal, dated January 31, 1998.

‘Do you know of what you are made? You are made in My very image, for even this heart that is yours is of Me. Yet you struggle so. How can this be? Let us reason together.

If you in your likeness to Me became like Me, would this not be a good thing? Yet there is a struggle, for you know not the way. This then is the meaning of these things:

I have put a heart within you that is of My own making. Yet this mind is of the world. The things you see and do are of this world. The struggle is this: your heart longs for the things of God, for it is of God. Yet your feet are on this earth. They long to walk in places not of My making. All is of Me, yet all is not in Me. There are places that a man walks that he is lord of. Yet when man falls, so does this place, for man is temporal.

And so the struggle to bring things of eternity in line with the temporal is at the heart of this struggle. You are a temporal being. Yet I in My glory fill you with that which is eternal. Shall there not be a struggle? Yet know this: the temporal falls that the eternal take its rightful place. For how can that which falls hold up that which stands forever? And this is the struggle within, My child.

Do not fear these things. I am Lord. Yet know that you in your humanness will feel this struggle. And this is a good thing, for if there would be no struggle, would I be there? If there is no struggle the temporal man, the man of this world, the man of flesh, would fall, and there would be none to raise him up. Yet I am eternal and in My love for what I have made, I AM, for I am faithfulness evermore.

So when you fall, who are of this world, I raise you up. For I do not fall.

In your struggle, rejoice. For I am with you to sustain you and I will never forsake the work of My hand.

Chapter 14. Feeding and Being Fed

We may desire to bring to the Lord a perfect work. We would like to point, when our work is done, to the beautiful ripened grain, and bound-up sheaves, and yet the Lord frustrates our plans, shatters our purposes, lets us see the wreck of all our hopes, breaks the beautiful structure we thought we were building and catches us up in his arms and whispers to us, “It is not your work I wanted, but you.”
Author Unknown

The Bread, The Wine, and The Glory

The Bread

The Lord has works of service, prepared for us since the beginning of time. 1 Do you have desires in your heart? Desires to do good and to help others? Desires to lead others to Christ?

This is the Spirit ‘who intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express’. 2 The Lord invites us to be workers with Him. Yet how can we offer to others what we do not have?

The disciples had a small amount of bread and fish, but when they brought these things to the Lord, He looked up to heaven, gave thanks, and gave them to the disciples to give to the people. 3 They could not give what they did not have, and the small amount that they did have, would be gone if they went on their own. Yet when they offered to the Lord what little they had, He blessed it, and multiplied it to overflowing.

So it is with us. We each have been given ‘talents’, but they would be ‘buried’ if we went into the world on our own with them. 4 We need to offer these desires and our gifts to Him, so that He would bless what He has given us, and it be multiplied to overflowing for the world.

Yet we must go to Him with the right attitude. 5 We must go to Him just to be with Him. No mandate. No demands. No agenda. Just to be in His Presence.

It is His work.

It is His desire.

It is His will.

We must be filled before we can overflow to others. He is the Overflow. We must be fed before we can feed others. He is the Bread of Life.

We only have five loaves of bread and two fishes (gifts of administration, money, hospitality, teaching, encouraging, loving, working hands, discernment, leading, following). 6 He tells us ‘bring them here to me’. 7 The people sit and wait. 8 He blesses our loaves and fish. Then He gives them to us.

If we do these things, there will always be twelve basketfuls left over, and then we will never have to search for a place to send them so that they can eat. 9

We must be fed before we can feed others. 10

The Wine

The Wedding at Cana is more than the story of a miracle. It is the story of man’s salvation. 11

The following is an excerpt from my spiritual journal dated October 19, 1996

‘The wine created from water is the Holy Spirit alive in man.

The Holy Spirit was alive in man in the beginning, and then man chose his own way.

The Son came, and lo and behold, the water poured from his side, and the Spirit was poured out a hundredfold upon mankind.

The best was saved for the last and the children of the kingdom drink their fill.

The Holy Spirit is available to all in abundance, but not all will drink of this.

Some will have filled themselves with the wine of the world, and so to drink this new and better wine, will not taste the goodness, for they are drunk with the things of this world.’

‘Taste and see that the Lord is good’ 12

The Glory

This is an excerpt from my spiritual journal dated March 17, 1997.

‘Be in My Presence. This is all I ask. What can you do for Me that I cannot do? Yet I have need of you as you have need of Me. The tide rolls out to return to the shore; the flower gives forth its aroma that more shall be planted. There is nothing under heaven that does not come forth, and give of itself, that more will come to be. Even the very grass dies so that it can be reborn.

So it is with you. I have need of you and you have need of Me. There is no emptiness in Me. Yet there is a place in Me, prepared since time began, for the likes of men. Your heart is ever before Me, and I am pleased, My child.

Yet know this: I come not to have you work for Me, for there is nothing you can do that I have need of. Yet in My Presence, I am pleased to have you there, for in you, I AM.

The very flowers have need of the soil. Yet even the soil has need of the flower; for how can it give forth the beauty of the flower of itself? So it is with Me. I AM. Yet in My Presence, the very earth rejoices. The stars and the heavens give forth their light. Is it not to Me to make My Presence known to you? For without Me you shall surely die.

And I in My Glory have need of you. Not for what you can do for Me, for I am complete unto Myself. Yet I would have this creation sing of My Glory and of My Name.

So it is with you. In My Presence, you give glory to Me, for you are of Me, and the very heavens proclaim My Name. Come unto Me, that you may be in My Presence, not for that which can be done, but for the Glory of My Name.

Would a friend come to you, and make demands of you, and you not know his name? Would he reveal the secrets of his heart, that you rebuke him for them? Would he use you for the advancement of his own heart? So it is with Me. I desire your presence, not for the things that I can do for you, nor for the things that you can do for Me. I desire your presence, because in Me I am in you, and the Glory of this union shines forth to the very heavens. Would it not be better to love all men this way? That the union of their hearts proclaim that glory to the very heavens?

This is the desire of My heart: seek Me to know My Will. And My Will is this: that all men come to the knowledge of the Lord, that I may wipe the tears from their eyes, and they turn, and I heal them, to the Glory of My Name.

Study Guide

Chapter 1 The First Step, Daily Prayer

1 1Corinthians 13:12
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

2 1Thessalonians 5:17
Pray continually.

3 1Corinthians 4:3-4
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

4 Psalm 139:23
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts.

5 Psalm 5:3
In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

6 Psalm 100:2
Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

7 John 12:49
For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.

8 Luke 5:16
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

9 Mark 16:17-18
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; They will speak in new tongues; They will pick up snakes with their hands; And when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; They will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.

10 Psalm 90:17
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; Establish the work of our hands for us – Yes, establish the work of our hands.

11 1John 4:1
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

12 Hebrews 4:10
For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.

Chapter 2 Getting God's Best, The Relationship

1 Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God.

2 John 20:27
Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

3 Luke 1:35
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.”

4 Philippians 2:10
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

5 Galations 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

6 Deuteronomy 32:1-2
Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; Hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew,
Like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.

Chapter 3 The Gift, Himself

1 Luke 2:6-7
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

2 Philippians 2:5
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

Chapter 4 Finger in the Dust, The Template

1 Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

2 Psalm 139:1-3
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
You are familiar with all my ways.

3 John 8:1-11
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They make her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

4 John 8:6
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger.

5 John 14:10
“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work.”

6 John 8:7
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

7 Matthew 12:34
“You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

8 John 8:8
Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 John 5:19-20
Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things that these.”

Chapter 5 In His Time, Faith and Healing

1 Psalm 18:16
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.

2 Psalm 18:16-19
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

3 John 20:27-28
Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

Chapter 6 A Gift at Easter, The Part and the Whole

1 John 3:21
“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

2 The Book of Common Prayer, 1959 Canada, page 541
“When any Child who has not received holy Baptism is critically ill, the Minister of the Parish (or, in his absence, any other lawful Minister) should be called upon to administer the Sacrament without delay, and if no lawful Minister may be had, and the Child is in danger of death, ANY PERSON PRESENT should pour WATER upon him and, naming him, say:
I BAPTIZE thee In the Name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen”

3 Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.

4 John 3:21
“But who ever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Chapter 7 An Arrow Removed, Oneness

1 1Peter 5:10
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

2 Ephesians 6:16
In addition to all this, take up the shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

3 Joel 2:28-29
And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

4 1Peter 5:6-11
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and altert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the Faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power forever and ever.

5 Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.

6 James 5:15-16
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

7 Ephesians 4:4-6
There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Chapter 8 The Road to Emmaus, The Road to Jerusalem

1 Luke 24:31
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him.

2 Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

3 Isaiah 57:15
For this is what the high and lofty one says – He who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

4 Luke 24:30-31
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

5 Jeremiah 29:11-13
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”

6 Luke 9:51
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

Chapter 9 The Mind of God, A Clear Answer

1 Hebrews 4:13
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

2 Titus 3:9
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.

3 John 8:44
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

4 Philippians 3:15-16
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

5 Isaiah 42:8
I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.

6 Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

7 Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Chapter 10 Divine Administrator, A Prophetic Word
1 Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.

2 Jeremiah 10:21
The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; So they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered.

3 Isaiah 55:10-11
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return to it without watering the earth
And making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
So is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
But will accomplish what I desire
And achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

4 Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

5 Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Chapter 11 The Girl with the Dark Hair, Entertaining a Stranger

1 1 Peter 4:14
If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

2 Ephesians 6:18
And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

3 Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

4 1 Peter 4:14
If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

5 Hebrews 1:14
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

6 Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Chapter 12 Alabaster Jars, The Miracle of the Bikes

1 Matthew 26:6-7
While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

2 Proverbs 31:30
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

3 Philippians 2:20-21
I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

4 Proverbs 22:6
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

5 Malachi 3:10
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” “Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “And see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

6 Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

7 Matthew 26:7
A woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He was reclining at the table.

8 Ephesians 6:19-20
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

9 Malachi 3: 10
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “And see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

10 Philippians 2:12-13
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

11 Isaiah 55:10-11
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return to it without watering the earth
And making it bud and flourish,
So that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
So is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire
And achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Chapter 13 A Time for Everything, The Seasons of our Lives

1 Ecclesiastes 3:1
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

2 Hebrews 3:13
But encourage on another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

3 Romans 7:21
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

4 Luke 10:40-42
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Chapter 14 Feeding & Being Fed, The Bread, The Wine, and The Glory

1 Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

2 Romans 8:26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

3 Matthew 14:18-19
“Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

4 Matthew 25:18
But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

5 Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

6 Matthew 25:15
To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

7 Matthew 14:18
“Bring them here to me,” he said.

8 Matthew 14:19
And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

9 Matthew 14:20-21
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

10 Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

11 John 2:1-11
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”, so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

12 Psalm 34:8
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

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